Toyota’s New Technology Leaves One-Pedal Driving In the Dust

A new technology that Toyota has just released is going to change how you drive for the better. Called Proactive Driving Assist (PDA), it is part of Toyota’s latest Safety Sense 3.0 package. We experienced it when testing the all-new 2023 Prius Limited and found that it worked perfectly and made driving more enjoyable.

One of the many aspects of driving an electric vehicle I enjoy using is what is referred to as one-pedal braking. This is simply a full application of regenerative braking. In the best EVs, it is adjustable. Perhaps our favorite application of it is in the Chevy Bolt, where a small lever allows a driver to quickly and effortlessly use regen braking at multiple levels of resistance. It can be used in many situations, but it is primarily used to slow the vehicle without the indeed to employ the vehicle’s friction brakes.

Over the past decade, many EV fans and owners assumed, incorrectly, that aggressive regenerative braking would recapture more power, and thus make using the vehicle more efficient and extend range. New studies by Porsche, Polestar, and other automakers say that one-pedal driving or manual application of regenerative braking doesn’t work better than the vehicle’s own control over the regenerative braking forces. For a deep dive into the subject, check out this recent story from Road and Track. Either way you feel about one-pedal driving, we think Toyota’s new system will win over any fan who uses it back-to-back with a vehicle using one-pedal driving.

Proactive Driving Assist provides gentle braking into curves or gentle braking and/or steering to help support driving tasks such as distance control between your vehicle and a preceding vehicle, pedestrian, or bicyclist. We noticed it most in suburban driving. Imagine you are going about your commute or running a local errand, and traffic is light, but there are other vehicles ahead of you. As vehicles up ahead slow or stop, the vehicle directly in front of you will do so as well. Toyota’s Proactive Driving Assist works with you. You instinctively lift off the accelerator pedal when the vehicle ahead starts to slow. What the PDA system does is enhance a driver’s deceleration smoothly and comfortably. You use the brake much less. If the vehicle ahead then regains speed, the Proactive Driving Assist stops its actions, and you then accelerate back up to the speed you wish, maintaining a proper distance between your vehicle and the one ahead.

Proactive Driver Assist also has a steering aspect. It can help to create more space between your vehicle and a bicyclist you are passing or assist by keeping your vehicle centered in its lane while driving in a curve. In all honestly, despite that part of the PDA system being enabled while I drove, I did not detect it operating.

Do not confuse what we are trying to describe with emergency autonomous braking. It is nothing like that, and Proactive Driving Assist is not intended to stop your vehicle abruptly. All modern vehicles have autonomous emergency braking assist, and Toyota was the industry leader in adopting that technology. Just as the Prius was the modern trailblazer in regenerative braking. Proactive Driving Assist is an entirely different animal. One you will enjoy using. 

As a sports car fan, I’ve owned thrilling vehicles like Miatas, Supras, and Civic Si cars. True driver’s machines, designed to engage the driver in the visceral excitement of driving. I love to drive, and I love to be in control of the vehicle. I’m also an early adopter who loves to try out technology like GM’s excellent Super Cruise hands-free highway driver assist system. It is my opinion as a professional vehicle tester that like-minded folks who love to drive will also enjoy using systems like one-pedal driving, manual regenerative braking control, and now Proactive Driving Assist. Using active driver aids need not negate the enjoyment of driving. Afraid of such systems in a car you might own? Well, there is always the off button. 

If you have had a chance to use Proactive Driving Assist, tell us in the comments under the story post how you like it. 

Images by John Goreham.

John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can follow John on Twitter, and TikTok, and view his credentials at Linkedin.